With a rise in the popularity of Christian-style weddings in Japan, some Westerners are finding they can make a lucrative living by acting as priests. But it does not please everyone, particularly genuine priests, as Kathleen McCaul reports.

Many Japanese couples want Western-style weddings

Mark Kelly is originally from Lancashire in England.
He has been living in Japan for six years and, at the
weekend, he is a fake priest.

"I was living in Sapporo, studying Japanese, and I
needed the money. It's far better paid than teaching
in a language school," he said.

"Being a fake priest is big business
in Japan - I've done a TV commercial for one company," he added.
"In Sapporo, there are five agencies employing about 20 fake priests. In a city like Tokyo, there must
be hundreds."

The fake Western priests are employed at Western-style
weddings to give a performance and add to the atmosphere. These are not legal ceremonies - the couples also have to make a trip to the local registrar.

"In the past almost all weddings in Japan were Shinto,
but in the last few years Western-style weddings have
appeared and become very popular," said one Japanese priest.

It is important for the bride and groom to have a proper wedding, and they are not getting it from these foreign priests

Japanese priest

"People like the
dress, the kiss and the image. Japanese Christians
make up only 1% of the country, but now about 90% of weddings are in the Christian
style."

"At the hotel where I work, there is a Christian
chapel next to a Shinto chapel. The Christian chapel
is always in use, but the Shinto chapel is being used
as a storeroom," Mr Kelly said.

The fake Western priests are used to create an authentic
Christian feel.

"There are Japanese priests, but most couples are
trying to re-create a European wedding, so
overwhelmingly ask for a foreign priest," said Momo,
who works at Morito Ishi Kyokai (forest and stone)
chapel.

"It is designed in the style of mid-century stone
churches in Europe," said Momo.

Mr Kelly worked at the chapel when it first opened.

"Because it was in a shopping centre, you got the sounds of vegetables on
special offer," he said.

"It's very popular because it's still new," added Momo.

Omi Junko plays the flute in a club and comes to the
chapel to practise.

"I like to come here. It has a good atmosphere because
it is a church," she said.

Hazards of the job

The fake priests in Japan sometimes have to deal with
difficult situations.

"Once I was holding a ceremony and an old man dressed
head to toe in military uniform hobbled to the front
and fell asleep," said Mr Kelly.

"Halfway through the service, he opened his eyes and I think he was back in Burma or
Thailand. He looked straight at me, stood up and
started unsheathing his rifle. Fortunately he was
pretty slow and his relatives stopped him."

Once, the bride vomited on me and then
fainted. It wasn't very romantic

Mark Kelly

Mr Kelly has often presided over ceremonies where the
bride is pregnant.

"It is common. Once, the bride vomited on me and then
fainted. It wasn't very romantic," he said.

Another difficulty is meeting genuine
Japanese priests.

"We do occasionally bump into the real thing. They are
very much against us, but there are not enough genuine Japanese priests to meet the demand" he said.

One Japanese Christian priest spoke out, but did not want to be
identified.

"It is a real problem for us. They are not genuine and they give us a bad name," he said.

"It is important for the bride
and groom to have a proper wedding, and they are not
getting it from these foreign priests. I have even
heard of hotels using staff when they can't find
anyone else."

Omi Junko was surprised to find out that some of the Western priests
were not genuine.

"I thought the priests were all real and I think
everyone in Japan thinks that," she said.

But Mr Kelly argues that the ceremony is not about religion,
but about image.

"I give a good performance. I use an Apache wedding prayer in my
ceremony. It works very well, although I had to take
out the part about the bear god in the sky," he said.

"If people are crying by the end of the wedding, I think I have done a good job."